Headaches
by Quig Alchemist
Summary: A mysterious bottle of what looks like oridinary pain medication is discoved in Urahara's shop that was made to help execute prisoners in the Soul Society. Ichigo gets some by accident and it seems there is no way to stop it...
1. Prologue

Headaches

"Hey Rukia, you know what this stuff is?" A tall blonde man asked her quietly. There was really no need for whispers, but the dark, almost secretive atmosphere made the two feel as if their words oozed with importance.

"Pain reliever?" The short girl replied, knowing the answer was far from being so simple. Urahara laughed lightly, but also with a dark pretense. The sound of the man shaking the small bottle of pills seemed to echo about his small shop. It truly was too quiet.

"That's what they all thought as well." Kisuke held up the seemingly harmless pain medicine and peered at it, scrutinizing it in the soft light swinging overhead.

"Who did?" The raven-haired girl wondered aloud, entranced by her own curiosity. She found it hard to take her eyes off the mysterious bottle.

"Prisoners." He answered shortly, turning his back to Rukia. She blinked in confusion for a moment and stared at the green and white striped cloth on his backside. "Of the Soul Society."

"But I've never seen anything something like this there." She protested.

"That's how they wanted it to be." Kisuke continued, completely humorless. "These prisoners were to be executed, but when there were problems making their sentences final, well…" He paused, deciding whether or not he should proceed. "Some people wanted the criminals dead, even if they had to do it illegally, so these were developed in total secret. It was quite ingenious really, but extremely unnecessary and cruel.

"Once the experimental version was complete, the pills began to slip into the prisons with hardly anyone knowing. The entire system was fixed right down to the guards. It was their job to create pain or possibly even torture for the prisoners, and when they would moan long hours into the night, the guards would simple slip them a couple pain pills…"

"Did the pills kill them?" Rukia asked, her voice growing quieter as Urahara's story developed.

"It probably would have been better that way. It would have been far less painful."

"Then what _did _the pills the guards gave them do?" Kisuke whirled around and squatted till he was eyes level with her. He gave Rukia a grave stare and then spoke in low tones.

"The pills were created so that when ingested, over the span of several hours, they would transform the taker into a hollow from the inside out by the most excruciating means possible. Prisoners would just 'disappear' from their cells, and then it would just so happen that some soul reapers caught a rogue hollow. It would be brutally slaughter, as some of the soul reapers had no idea that it was a prisoner."

"That's horrible…" Rukia mouthed, still not breaking eye contact. "But I don't understand…why are you telling me all this?" Kisuke's eyes gleamed dangerously under the brim of his matching striped hat.

"I used to have two bottles." He said without faltering. "Now, one's missing."

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A day preceding the two's meeting, Ururu found herself obediently sweeping up the back of Urahara's shop. It was an almost pointless job. Nothing ever stayed clean around Kisuke; Ururu's job was better described as shoving the piles of dirt around rather than 'cleaning'.

As she did this, a bead of sweat dripping down her nose, she could faintly hear Jinta imitating the roar of a crowd. He, who was also supposed to be 'cleaning' as well, was, once again, slamming home runs with the end of his broom at the front of the shop. The announcer yelled and the crowd roared as the small red haired boy ran in circles, head held high.

Ururu rolled her eyes with a yawn, thankful that she wasn't assigned with him. It would only end up in tears.

"Ow!" She tripped unexpectedly, but caught herself before she did a full on face plant. She swept her long black bangs from her eyes and looked at her feet curiously to spot the item that had tripped her. "Pain Medicine?" As simple as the bottle was, something still seemed strange about it.

Ururu scratched her head, puzzled by it's sudden appearance. It was almost like it wasn't there a second ago when she was sweeping that part of the floor…

"I better go ask Mr. Kisuke what to do with it. Regular old pain pills shouldn't be back here…" She hesitantly bent over and picked it up, leaning her broom against a box. The strange feeling still didn't vanish as she held the mysterious bottle cautiously.

An odd minute or so later, she found the shop's owner absorbed in a new video game.

"Come on…come on…get it you dumb…!" he screamed at the screen just as Ururu appeared behind him in the doorway. She winced fearfully, nearly forgetting that his insults weren't directed at her.

"M-mr. Kisuke?" she stuttered quietly.

"Ask Tessai." He snapped flatly. "Busy now." The screen flashed a giant red 'Game Over' that filled the screen a moment later. "Oh come on you lousy piece of…!"

Ururu nearly killed herself as she hastily scrambled out of the room before she could catch his profanity.

"Mr. Tessai!" Ururu exclaimed, looking up at the tall, dark-skinned man carrying several large boxes. He peered around the edge of the middle box and forced a pained smile. The boxes must have been heavy.

"Yes?" he said in a strained voice.

"I found this in the back room when I was sweeping." He squinted through his thin-framed glasses at the small girl's hand.

"Oh? What did Mr. Kisuke have to say about it?"

"He didn't…I was told to ask you about it."

"Ok then…well…" Tessai shifted his weight uncomfortably, clenching his teeth. "Just…take them back to the pharmacy…don't make a fuss though…Mr. Kisuke probably just got too many in the last shipment…it shouldn't be a problem." Sweat was no pouring down his face. "These are…really heavy you know…" He stumbled off, trying his best not to drop anything. Ururu nodded and proceeded to the pharmacy.

It was only a short walk, leaving her panting slightly from the unbearable heat. Her feet softly pattered across the ground thirsty for a summer rainstorm as she neared the drug store and dashed inside. She moved towards the shelf labeled 'pain relievers' and disguised the action of taking the bottle from beneath her shirt. Her soft blue eyes darted about the aisle, checking if the coast was clear, as she sneaked the pills into its uniform position next to the others.

"They'll be so proud of me! I did something right!" she squealed in delight, hosting a bright smile and skipped back into the hot sun with a song at her lips.

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Well, this is just the prologue to this six-chapter story. It is done, it just have to finish editing it and posting it. Please leave me a review and tell me what you think so far! Oh the foreshadowing! My English teacher would be proud! Lol.

-Quig-


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"I think it's completely healed!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! You'll be just fine now." Isshin poked around on the boy's arm, checking for any overlooked problems. He gently poked and pressed the bones and joints, eventually clearing the small boy from his care. "Just take this for any lasting pain." He handed the boy a small oval shaped pill and had him swallow it with a glass of water.

"Thank you Mr. Kurosaki!" the boy exclaimed, wiping the remaining water droplets from his chin. He walked out of the clinic with a big smile on his face, waving with his healed limb.

"Be careful with that arm now! You don't want to break it again you know!" The doctor laughed and waved back as the chime on the door tinkled softly. He looked down at the empty bottle in his head and said, "I guess that was the last one. Hey Yuzu! Come here for a sec!" She bobbled in from the kitchen a moment or two later.

"Yes Dad?" Her cropped brown hair that reminded him so much of her mother was slick with sweat. She had been working hard cooking dinner for her family. She wore a pale yellow apron, worn from extensive use, and held a large wooden spoon as well.

"I need you to run down to the pharmacy and pick up a bottle of aspirin okay? We're out. You can never have too much of this stuff at a clinic."

"Okay, but what about dinner? The rolls have to be taken out in 10 minutes." Yuzu had a look of pure desperation on her face.

"Don't worry, I'll look after it!" Isshin grinned a big fake grin and Yuzu shook her spoon, scolding him.

"Oh no you don't! You remember what happened last time!" She frowned and crossed her arms. "I'll get Karin, then I'm going." Yuzu hurried upstairs, retrieving her sister a minute later. "Please watch dinner for me, and above all _don't _let Dad go near it, okay?"

"Right." Karin nodded, as an apron and spoon were shoved into her empty hands.

As Yuzu shouted a quick, "Bye!" she heard her sister mutter a disgusted, "Do I really have to wear this…?"

She made short work in getting to the pharmacy, desperate to escape the sweltering heat. It was a welcome relief when the doors swung open, releasing a cool burst of air. She made her way easily to the 'pain reliever' section and picked up the first bottle on the shelf. She brought it to the cashier who looked at it curiously.

"That's odd. This one doesn't have a barcode. Must be the manufacturer's mistake. Oh well. Price check!"

"Um, excuse me." The tall woman looked down a Yuzu sweetly.

"Yes dear? What is it?"

"Just charge it to my dad's tab. He's a doctor."

"Oh, you must be a Kurosaki!" She smiled, punching in a few keys on her cash register. "No problem, honey. I'll take care of it."

Yuzu practically sprinted home with the sudden fear that her dinner was burning.

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"I'm home! Hey Yuzu, is dinner ready yet?" Ichigo exclaimed as he sluggishly entered in through the front door. He rubbed his head and then froze, noticing a growing shadow emerging at his right.

"Ichigoooo!" Isshin came flying at his orange haired son with a devious gleam in his eye. Ichigo easily batted away his flying punch and flipped his father over his head and past the coffee table.

"Not now!" The boy growled, rubbing his head again. "I have a killer headache…" He grumbled angrily, a permanent frown sewn to his aggravated features.

"Oh, hey Ichigo!" Yuzu responded, finally realizing her brother was home. "Dinner will be ready in ten minutes." She was nearly out of breath as the heavenly smells of the kitchen wafted into the room.

"Great. I'll be upstairs." he said with no enthusiasm whatsoever and promptly stepped up to his bedroom.

When he opened the door to his room, he immediately noticed a small, hand-written note lying on his bedspread. He picked it up and saw it was addressed to him from Rukia. He glanced at it in a half interested manner, and read it.

_Ichigo,_

_I'll be back tomorrow. There was an urgent matter at Urahara's shop._

_-Rukia_

_Great, _he thought with a sigh, _she's gone again. Well, at least I don't have to grab extras for her at dinner tonight. _

Ten minutes later, Ichigo's head was still severely throbbing to the point of where he almost didn't hear his own name called down for dinner. As he stood from lying on his bed, his head swam painfully, even though, he eventually managed to stumble down the stairs and take a seat with the others.

"What'd you, uh…make Yuzu?" the boy mumbled, trying to be polite with his eyes still closed, as they were extremely sensitive to the light.

"Roast beef and mashed potatoes!" She smiled brightly as if she'd won the award for best cook. Then she noticed her brother making small massaging circles on his temples with his index fingers. "Are you alright Ichigo?"

"Yeah…well no. My head…it's _killing _me. I can't even seem to…think strait…"

"Would stop with all your complaining!" Isshin chucked his fork at his son, but even as his eyes were closed, Ichigo dodged with ease. "This _is _clinic you know! Quit bellyaching and go get yourself some aspirin!"

"Fine!" He slammed his fist onto the table and grabbed his plate in one smooth motion. "I'm going to bed…" He stalked back up the stairs and set his food on the bedside table in his room. He moved to the bathroom, stumbling, almost in slow motion. The floor seemed to tilt beneath his feet and he began to feel sick to his stomach. He braced himself against the mirror as his vision blurred and he groped among the multiple pill bottles. He squinted with a sway, finally discovering the proper pain medication.

"Stupid seal…" his numb digits scraped at the unopened bottle uselessly. "Why did it have to be a new one…?" He stopped for a moment and stared at himself in the mirror with a hazy look. Then, with one fierce swipe, Ichigo busted the plastic and dropped one pill into his hand. _Finally…_he thought gratefully, popping the small tablet into his mouth. He poured a glass of water and desperately swallowed it in one huge gulp.

He walked back down the hall toward his bedroom only desiring sleep, thinking he could sleep off his headache. The food that was growing colder suddenly seemed completely unappealing, as he didn't even want to wait long enough for the medicine to take affect. He flopped down on his bed, not bothering to change out of his jeans. He barely flicked off his light in the process. It seemed that the moment his head hit the pillow, he was out cold.

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Alrighty, this is the official first chapter. Hope you liked it and I also hope you'll tell me if you did or not! It shall only get better from here! W00Ts!

-Quig-


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The first sounds of the morning Ichigo heard were the soft melodic singing of birds. They twittered out on his windowsill, inviting the bright and early morning joyously. He opened his eyes next and noticed a soft light flooding in through his blinds, but miraculously, he felt no pain from his previous headache. He smirked, sitting up and feeling mountains better than before.

"Ow…" Ichigo winced unexpectedly, feeling a pain in his chest. _At least I _thought _I was all better…_He rubbed his chest briefly and the short, sharp pains subsided.

His headache was definitely gone, but it felt as if it had been replaced by a sick feeling deep inside that he couldn't quite explain. Now, as he stood up from his bed, he realized he was feeling worse than ever. Not only was he hurting on the inside, he was extremely dizzy as well.

Ichigo came down the stairs with more of a slump in his shoulders than usual and strolled past his family, who were already having breakfast. He ignored them completely, proceeding to the front door without a word. His dad attempted another sneak attack, but before he could even curl his fist, Ichigo knocked him back with a swift crack to the nose. The front door slammed behind him, leaving his sisters blinking in confusion and his dad holding his nose as blood seeped between his fingers. His son was definitely more pissed off than normal. Ichigo never intended to _really_ hurt Isshin, but his time, he had nearly broken his nose, as it was now bleeding profusely.

By the time he arrived at school and burst into the classroom, his chest felt like it was on fire. Ichigo reported straight to his desk, and immediately upon sitting, he put his head down against the desk. He clenched his teeth and shut his eyes tightly. The unbearable throbbing pain that was coursing throughout his entire body drowned all other sounds of the noisy classroom out. Blood pulsed hotly in his ears and he feared that any moment his chest would rip itself apart…

"Hey there Ichigo!" His eyes snapped open, his trance broken as he wearily lifted his head at the sound of a sweet girl's voice. He shook slightly as a pair of strong gray eyes was forced into his shuddering vision. "Oh my! You look awful! Are you sick today?"

"No…I'm fine…" he lied with a slight disguised tremble that appeared to be a reassuring nod. He lowered his head and laid his forehead back down onto the desktop again. Orihime looked down at him with worry deep in her eyes, but the appearance of the teacher sent her toward her desk.

"Alright everyone! Please take your seats!" The teacher clapped as the students began to quiet down one by one. She took a brief head count of her class and noticed the bright orange haired student fast asleep with his head down on his desk.

"Kurosaki!" Ichigo felt a sudden, unexplained wave of pain thrust upon his chest. He clutched his shirtfront with a trembling hand and quaked all over. He nearly cracked his teeth from his violent wincing. "Get your head up Kurosaki! Home is for sleeping, not school!" Ichigo knew the entire classes' eyes were burning into him, but he was unable to move. _It hurts so badly…I can't…move… _"Kurosaki answer me now!" He grit his teeth in a tremendous effort to lift his head. His fingers were slowly unclasped from their death grip on his shirt, as his head slowly rose from the desk. Sweat beaded on his forehead and his vision suffered greatly when as he attempted to focus on his fuming teacher at the front of the room.

The teacher saw his face a moment later and gasped loudly at the sheer, pale, sickening mess that was his face. "K-kurosaki…?" she muttered with fear clearly evident in her voice. Everyone continued to stare at him, increasing the uneasiness of the scene.

The pain ebbed away at him, but it eventually lessened in the next passing moments and Ichigo quickly replaced the look on his face with his usual frown. He glared about the room, his eyes threatening to kill, as he growled, "School's not for staring at me either!" He grabbed a book from his desk and opened it fiercely, hiding his face beyond its pages. "I'm fine already! Don't you all have something better to do?"

Someone coughed in the back of the room, breaking the awkward silence, and was immediately followed by the sound of shuffling papers. Everyone slowly turned their attention from Ichigo and back to the front of the classroom, where the teacher had begun the lesson.

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Poor Ichigo!!! (He would really like it if you left me a review! cough cough) Let me just tell you, his life's about to become a living hell.

Oh, and an edit from before. I said there were _six_ chapters, but I was wrong. There are _seven_ chapters including the prologue at the beginning. I think that should cover it!

-Quig-


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Oi! Ichigo! Come back to the real world!" The lunch bell rang loudly, barely able to mask Keigo's obnoxious voice. The boy with parted brown hair snapped his fingers before his fellow student's nose.

"H-huh…?" Ichigo blinked, and seemed to notice that he and three of his friends were eating lunch.

"Dude, you seem really out there today!" Mizuiro commented as he poked a hole with his straw in his juice box before taking a sip. Chad nodded in agreement from the other side of the lunch circle with he contently munched on his tuna fish sandwich. "What's with you?" Ichigo shrugged, pretending to ignore the pain he was already feeling. He had been concentrating so much on blocking it out from before, that he'd barely acknowledged his friends.

"I don't know…" he spat out, not meaning to sound vicious. He brought his own drink to his lips and what felt like one hundred tons of pressure buckled in on his ribcage. He dropped his juice and his hand shot to his chest in a similar manner from earlier that morning. The three stared at him as he doubled over in pain while trying to stand. Once he believed his knees were strong enough to run, Ichigo began to sprint away, but was mistaken and fell, sliding across the concrete on his face. His arm was still pinned under him as well, where his hand felt like it was practically glued to his chest.

"Ichigo!" All of his senses had diminished. He knew someone had called his name, but the word had been so hazy that he had no idea who called out to him. Ichigo decided in his last moments of consciousness to focus. _I have to get Rukia…! _

"What happened?" Another voice yelled from what sounded miles away.

"Get…Rukia…" he mumbled, gasping for air as he kept his eyes jammed shut. "H-hurry…"

It only took his friends a moment to respond. At first they were stunned, but in the very next second, Keigo jumped up shouting, "You guys stay here and help if you can! I'll go get Rukia!" Chad and Mizuiro nodded in unison and also ran, but instead to Ichigo's side. The soul reaper had already lost consciousness. They could do nothing but wait for Keigo and Rukia to return.

The chick-obsessed Keigo ran as fast as could, half thrilled with the idea of busting up the girl's luncheon, and half scared to death that Ichigo was in serious danger. He saw about eight girls happily enjoying there picnic style lunch under the oak tree in the courtyard as he ran up to them.

"Rukia…!" he panted out as he buckled over with his hands on his knees. The party all looked at him with the same blank, 'Are you on crack or just plain stupid?' look. Keigo desperately tried to regain his breath as an awkward silence screamed in his ears.

"What's your deal?" He slowly unfixed his eyes from his unpolished shoe tops and wearily looked up amongst the girls, feeling his cheeks become a deep scarlet color. He then brushed off his pants and straightened his composure.

"Rukia…Ichigo…he needs you…" Keigo said this while looking directly into the raven-haired girl's eyes. He wasn't even able to close his mouth as quick as her reaction was to his broken statement. Rukia had leaped over two girls and raced past him on a dead sprint.

"Where is he?" she barked as Keigo just began to catch back up to her.

"On the roof." _It has to be a hollow. Such an urgent matter…_Then she saw Ichigo's lifeless body lying facedown. _He's still in his normal form! His soul's still intact inside his body. What's going on here?! _

"Ichigo!" she called out, kneeling down at his side as the useless Chad and Mizuiro backed away. A crowd of girls also followed behind Keigo, all of which began to form a circle as Rukia inspected Ichigo._ Something's definitely not right here…_She then, with much difficulty, flipped him over onto his back, noticing that, like before, his hand was fixed to his chest. His face was contorted in a constant pain laden with heavy, uncomfortable twitches. It made her cringe just to look at his pale, ghostlike whiteness. Disturbing pieces of this twisted puzzle were beginning to fall into place, and she definitely didn't like it.

_I need to see what's going on with his soul._ Rukia thought to herself and gently laid his dead hand by his side. _Ichigo…? _She spoke, closing her eyes, but could feel no response from his spiritual pressure. She reopened her eyes at looked at him carefully. He had obviously been unconscious for several minutes but was still feeling enormous waves of pain.

"What do you think is wrong?" A curiously worried whisper from behind suddenly alerted Rukia to just how many people were standing around watching. To make matters worse, more kept coming. This could be very bad, but what was she to do? _Might as well do this as fast as possible._ She thought with a sigh as she ripped open the front of his gray school uniform and treated his white t-shirt beneath that with just as much respect. Sure some of the students surrounding them gasped, but she had already made up her mind to do this no matter what happened.

Without hesitation, Rukia next placed her hands on the center of his chest and closed her eyes again. A cold chill of death pulsed through body originating at her hands, and caused her to shiver. Everyone watched in fascination as her facial expressions changed to one of confusion and pain. Ignoring everything except Ichigo, she began to chant one of many soul reaper spells. This one would help her see the chain of fate and the condition of the soul's entirety. The spell wasn't normally used in battles, but it was necessary to be knowledgeable of it just the same.

As she peered inside him, the results of her view shocked her, but had more of the fearful effect on her. Ichigo's chain of fate, as impossible as if seemed, was no longer attached to his soul. Both the soul and body were still as one, but there was infinite void that had taken up the space between and ultimately severed the two. The links in the chain, which frightened her very most, were eating themselves…just like the encroachment process when one becomes a hollow.

Rukia jumped back, sprawling across the ground on her backside as she released herself from the powerful spell. She felt like and looked like she had come in contact with a deadly disease. Whispers floated all around as she began to get dizzy from expending so much energy. If she didn't do something soon…she didn't even want to think about it. She knew the only thing she could do was get Ichigo to Urahara's shop. Judging by the remaining length from his chain of fate, time was no longer on her side. But then again, when was it?

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Hmm. This is getting strange eh? Heh. Once again, poor Ichigo. He goes through much for my writing pleasure. XP Please leave me a review! I'd really appreciate any thoughts you have on my story!

-Quig-


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Rukia's eyes frantically searched the crowd, knowing she was not near strong enough to carry Ichigo with any speed to Urahara's shop. Her gaze eventually fell on the tall, dark-skinned guy with thick curly bangs standing nearby.

"Chad! Get Ichigo!" she shouted, regaining her strength as she motioned for him to come quickly. As he ran forward, this signaled the quiet manner of the other students' curiosity to change dramatically.

"What's wrong?" "Is he going to be okay?" "What you did you do?" "What's happening?" The voices ranged from hysterical to shock as the crowd grew closer and closer, eliminating in the remaining spaces that could be crucial for escape.

"GET BACK!" Rukia screamed at everyone as Chad scooped up Ichigo. They were all immediately silenced and took two giant steps back. That is, all except one person.

"Ichigo! What's the matter with you!" A girl with cerulean pins in her hair ran up, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. She ran right past Rukia and up to Chad who now had Ichigo slung over his shoulder.

"Orihime! There's nothing you can do for him! Please get out of the way!" The soul reaper shouted while narrowing her eyes so the concerned girl might understand how serious the situation had become. She needed to get Ichigo out of there before any teachers showed up to poke their nose where it wasn't wanted.

"But…!" the girl protested with stormy gray eyes.

"Please Orihime!" The twos' eyes connected and Inoue backed down.

"I understand…" she said feebly and stepped aside.

"Hurry Chad! I said MOVE!" Rukia screamed again as she pushed past other students with Chad right behind. Uryu Ishida watched from a safe distance next to the classroom door just as the bell signaling the end of lunch rang. "This way Chad!" She veered left and Chad shot her a confused glance.

"But, the hospital's that way…" he stated unsurely, guessing that was where the two were headed.

"We're not going to the hospital. There's nothing they can do for him there." She briefly glanced back and saw the top of the boy's orange hair. "Hang on Ichigo…" she whispered softly as turned her attention ahead her again.

They three arrived at Urahara's shop minutes later, two of which were nearly out of breath. Rukia instructed Chad to lay Ichigo on the straw mat in the middle of the room while she fetched Kisuke.

"Do you think he's going to be alright?" The tall boy asked just as she began to walk away. Rukia stopped and bit her lip as she looked down at Ichigo's peaceful expression. The pain had subsided temporarily, but she knew it only the calm before a deadly storm.

"Rukia!" Urahara burst into the room, saving her the trouble of finding him. His eyes were wide and the instant he spotted Ichigo's motionless body on the floor, he feared the worst. "Don't tell me. He didn't…did he?" She could only nod sadly. "And what about him?" He pointed at Chad.

"He carried Ichigo here. I needed his help." She turned her back to Kisuke and spoke to the dark boy. "Thanks for everything Chad, but I think you need to leave."

"Are you sure you don't…?"

"No Chad. You can't help him anymore. Please just go back to school and tell them Ichigo will be alright." Rukia gave him a small, uneasy smile and he grudgingly nodded and left.

Once they were sure Chad was out of earshot, Urahara asked, "What happened Rukia?"

"I'm not really sure. Somehow he got his hands on the pills and took them by mistake." She laced her fingers together and placed them under her chin with an extremely troubled look on her face. "I saw it Kisuke."

"Saw?"

"His chain of fate. It was half eaten…from the inside out. It's almost like he's turning into a hollow, but no one would know about the encroachment until it was too late to do anything about it."

"I don't deny this as truth. If you indeed have seen this by looking into him, the pills can be the only possible explanation."

"How can they be allowed to make such a vile thing?" Rukia's deep blue eyes burned with concern and anger. "No natural thing should be able to eat the soul like that when it's not in spirit form."

Kisuke sighed softly and nervously pulled at the end of his sleeves.

"But that's the way they're designed. The transformation is carried out quickly and in complete secret. No one person is responsible for it either. Well, actually, they can't figure out who did it. Since they don't know that much, there is nothing we can do to stop it…"

"Don't say that! There has to be a way to stop it! We have to save Ichigo!" The flames in her eyes sparked, but when Urahara shook his head sadly, they flickered and died, leaving her feeling defeated.

"Unless…" Rukia's head shot up with a desperate, refocused stare that pierced Kisuke's eyes. He scratched his chin thoughtfully and looked at the ceiling.

"Unless what?"

"I did hear of _one_ way that was floating around the soul society back in the old days, but I'm not sure if it's even worth a try…"

"_Anything's _worth a try!" Her face was filled with determination; a look that was right at home in the Kuchiki family. He took a deep breath, still looking away from her and began, "If a soul reaper has one type of power, than there has to also be an opposite force. In this case, a Quincy. A soul reaper's spirit energy was used to create those pills, so the idea is that a Quincy's power will counteract it. Since their energy is transferred in the form of arrows when they destroy hollows, it has been said possible that they are the only things capable of stopping the transformation. But…I don't believe there are any still living after the mass extermination so many years ago, so were back to square one…" Rukia stared down numbly. _I also thought all the Quincy's to be dead…I don't know what to do…_

"Uryu…Is-ishida…" A small pained voice mumbled brokenly from the floor. The girl gasped, running to his side in an instant. She and Kisuke had been so busy talking, that she hadn't even noticed that Ichigo had regained consciousness and had been listening for the past several minutes. The man followed behind her and looked down at him while he hovered behind them unsurely. "He's a…he's a Quincy…" Ichigo said weakly without blinking his hazy and unfocused eyes. His face still remained calm with his lips barely moving. His chest rose and fell harshly with his sputtered and uneven breath.

Then the final wave struck him. His body was wracked with an unbearable pain far worse than all before, causing him to twitch, once again, uncontrollably. His eyes were forced shut and his hand was driven to his chest against his will. His nails dug into his exposed skin as he painfully wrenched it, leaving bloodied indentions.

Rukia reached out fearfully and shaking, grasping the boy's left hand as he laid flat on his back.

"H-hurry…" he croaked even softer than before and squeezed her hand tightly for a few brief seconds. "It feels like something's trying to rip my chest…apart…" She gave his hand a little squeeze for support and bent close to his ear, whispering, "Don't worry Ichigo, I won't let you turn into a hollow." Tears were mere moments from spilling from her strong sapphire eyes.

She quickly stood, shaking away her emotions with Ichigo's limp hand, letting them fall to the floor in unison so she could focus on the task before her. Rukia began to walk toward the door, her shoulders repositioned so they sat higher and more confidently.

"I'll be back." She said curtly with her back turned to Urahara. "Don't you are give up on him yet." And with that, she was gone.

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Go Rukia go! I want to thank my reviewers so very much for the encouragement! It seems like every time I get a, "Please update soon!" message, I get more and more excited about a story! (aka makes me want to write and post faster! lol) Please leave me reviews, like I said, o' how I lurves them! Till next time my shinies!

-Quig-


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Rukia had never run faster in her entire life. Nor had she ever been more afraid. Not of what could have happen to her of course, but to Ichigo. Her heart beat wildly with ever step that she grew nearer and nearer to the school. Time was something he didn't have much of, so every second counted.

She nearly flung the classroom's door off its hinges as she burst into the classroom. Every eye was trained on her, but she could only care about one person.

"You! Come with me! Now!" She ran over to Ishida's desk and grasped his wrist forcefully. No one dared to utter a word. Rukia literally looked like a raving mad woman. Even the teacher was completely speechless as she added this to the day's one of many strange events.

"Why?" Uryu fought back, loosing his arm from her. She peeled around and gave him a look that could have scorched his eyebrows off in a half second. He recoiled but she grabbed his hand again and pulled him along. He didn't fight being dragged this time. He was afraid that next her look would kill.

Once they were well on their way back to Urahara's shop, Ishida built up the gall to ask, "Is this about what happened to Ichigo?" Before, he had felt a very strange and different force about the soul reaper, sensing the danger.

"Yes." She answered shortly.

"Uh, you can let go of my, uh, hand now…" His voice seemed to whither and shrink as he awaited a sharp insult or slap across the face. But, just as he began to wince, neither came. Instead the two hurried down a dark alley and Rukia released her grip. Uryu rubbed his wrist, noticing the deep imprints from her stressed fingers. He looked over at her and saw both of her hands were clenched in tight, quaking fists. _Just what _happened_ to make her act like this? _

"We're here. Hurry!" She dashed inside the shop and he hesitantly followed through the sliding doorway.

"_He's_ a Quincy?!" Kisuke shouted, expecting some great and wise old man. "He's just a kid!" Rukia let out a relieved sigh seeing that Ichigo had not yet become a hollow, and then said, "He's one of Ichigo's friends from school. He can be trusted."

"Excuse me, but my grandfather taught me everything there is to know about being a Quincy. He was one of the best before he died. I believe I'm well equipped to handle the situation."

"You don't even know what the problem is. Be quiet and listen." Urahara hissed angrily. The two growled at each other, both on edge from the pulsing sense of danger present in the room. Rukia pounced in between them and yelled, "Stop this! Both of you! We have to help Ichigo, not settle any stupid arguments!" They looked down shamefully and muttered to themselves bitterly. "Let's get started Uryu."

"W-what I'm I supposed to do?" he asked, caught off guard as all attention became focused on him.

"Shoot one of your arrows through the center of Ichigo's chest. It should be easy for you to focus on the right spot, since I removed his shirt earlier."

"Say what now?" He threw confused glances around the room and took a dizzy step backwards.

"Please Uryu. You're the only one that can save him now. Your arrows hold the key to stopping Ichigo from becoming a full hollow. Normal Zanpaku-tos won't work in this situation to kill the hollow inside him."

"Wait…so you're saying he's about to become a hollow?" His mortified voice echoed around the room and fell silent. Rukia nodded shortly, hiding her distressed eyes. Ishida was rocked almost completely speechless. "H-how's that…possible…?"

"Please…just do it. I don't have time to explain all the details right now." Uryu nodded hesitantly, still unconvinced that it would work. He rolled up his sleeves, revealing a small silver cross, dangling on a chain connected to his right wrist. He grasped it tightly and it began to glow a bright blue that throbbed with spirit energy. The light from his hand extended into a long slender bow-like form that matched the length of his body. He pulled back an invisible glowing string by a single ring, creating the rough shape of a pulsing blue arrow.

Rukia and Kisuke lifted Ichigo to his knees with great difficulty between his violent twitches. They wanted to make his chest as easy a target as possible. Ichigo's head drooped, as he no longer had the strength to hold it up.

"Aim for the center of his chest right?"

"Yes." Uryu squinted with one eye, his finger quivering as he hesitated to release the bow's string.

In one harsh movement, Rukia and Urahara were roughly thrown to the ground as Ichigo stood up strait on his own two feet. His eyes remained tightly closed and his hands hung motionless by his sides. An inerasable grimace was plastered to his face. His breathing was heavy and low, as his skin grew paler with each passing moment.

"I-ichigo?" Rukia began timidly, a petrified look sewn to her features.

"Oh no." Kisuke breathed from his backside on the floor, holding his striped hat that had been knocked from his head previously. "It's begun."

"Huh?"

"His transformation into a hollow has just entered the final stages."

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Is it just me, or is this chapter shorter than the others…? Any who, it's the setup chapter for the end of the story. The next chapter will be very shiny!!! (the second to last) Can't wait! (I'm sure you can't either…lols)((whispers)) Ichigo's gonna go crazy hollowfied((whispers)) O.O No! Till next time! (which could very well be later today if you all leave some o so lovely reviews!) Heh.

-Quig-


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The three bystanders all stood frozen, unable to even take the small steps back to get to safety. Their eyes were all intently focused on the hollow standing in the middle of the room, whose frame was shaking slightly even though his body was rigid and completely stiff.

At first Ichigo had fallen silent, but as they watched in horror a moment later, his mouth opened, releasing a gut wrenching cry. He hands flew up and covered his face as he screamed not a normal scream, but something that was the cold heartless cry of something that ought be dead. Ichigo's fingers dug into the sides of his face and raked down his cheeks, growing dangerously close to the bone. His hands succeeded in muffling his shrieking cries, but they still could not be denied for their horrid sound. It was the most severe pain he had ever experienced.

The lights began to flicker from the waves of his powerful spiritual pressure, causing the scene to grow shades dimmer. Tables and chairs around the room were thrown about and almost anything breakable was instantly shattered. Kisuke covered Rukia's head from the shards of glass, as Uryu ducked behind a set of cabinets. The room itself felt that it was about to shake right from its foundations as the walls cracked violently. The air swirled into an almost suffocating thickness, still tossing objects about the room. The boy's body cast long, dark and most terrifying shadows across the room where evil seemed to emit from all directions.

"Do it now!" Urahara finally broke through the hypnotizing trance the three seemed to be caught in, as he shouted over Ichigo's unearthly bellows. Ishida knew the call was for him, but he still seemed unable to move.

Ichigo's body was now changing into one big contorted twist of what used to be arms, head, and torso. His limbs appeared to be melting before their eyes, liquefying down past his waist. Milky white substance leaked over him and began to smother him with a hardening striped mask. His fingers began to reform into long sharp, crimson claws that now stretched over his head where his mask stuck out with spikes on the top of what used to be his head. The endless shrieking continued throughout the entire process, sending chills scampering down everyone's spines.

"Hurry!" Rukia yelled, also regaining her senses from beneath Kisuke's cloak. "If you don't do it now, they will be no way to save him and we will all die! Once Ichigo is a hollow, there's no doubt that with him being such a powerful force that he would eat three gifted souls! Make a decision Uryu! If you don't, we will be forced to kill him!" Tears streamed from her cheeks as the inevitable was spoken, as much as she hated to admit it to herself. Uryu was still feeling numb against her words. "Ishida!" Rukia screamed, capturing his focus. "All you have to do is aim for the center of his chest!" He gulped, looking back at Ichigo, and cold sweat poured from his forehead.

The monster before his eyes was constantly changing in shape, becoming exceedingly white, grotesque, and even more unrecognizable with every second. Deep black spines emerged from his back, running down toward the ground. Ichigo was no longer even the slightest bit human.

In all honesty, this hollow frightened Uryu down to his very core. He felt himself shaking from head to toe, his eyes wide with an unknown fear. _Is this _really _Ichigo?_ He asked himself and then justified his actions. _No, it's not. He's a monster now. Hopefully this will put him out of his misery._ Ishida straightened up and began to pull on the glowing bow's string, retracting the arrow from its resting place. As he slowly pulled back, there seemed to be a steady outside force resisting him greatly. The silver ring sliced into fresh skin, causing crimson droplets of blood to drip down his fingers and onto the string. He squinted, carefully aiming for the center of Ichigo's chest, trying his best to ignore the concentrated pain while gritting his teeth.

A small black hole began to rip into the hollow's chest, as Ishida's focus faltered, hearing the hollow's roars.

"I WANT TO DIE!" Ichigo was now screaming this muffled phrase repetitively. His voice had changed, but the severe anguish of truly wanting to die showed that deep down, he really was still a suffering human. His cries faded after about a minute later, and were replaced with insane laughter. It was a foul, evil laugh, sounding as if the Ichigo they all knew had finally given up on life. This mutilated being was now just torturing himself. Uryu knew it was all over and regained his focus on the infinite blackness of the circle on the hollow's chest. He released the bow's string just as the dark hole became completely visible. The force of his own arrow knocked him down to his butt and he skid a few paces across the floor. A piercing light filled the room, blinding them all senseless.

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Ahhh!! Omg Ichigo!! No!

Well, I hope you all were happy despite the slight wait. (I really hope it was worth it.) :)

Please keep reading as the next chapter is THE LAST ONE!!! O.O (big surprise ahead that if someone sees coming, kudos to you.) Oh, and also Thank You so very much for the reviews! They really do mean a lot to me (also the over a 1000 hits. Lol) and so it would be really awesome to see what you thought of this chapter! I tried to incorporate some of what you guys would have liked to see…hope I did alright…

-Quig-


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Uryu shielded his eyes from the brilliant display of lights, as Rukia and Kisuke could only follow. The glow began to die, and the three blinked, squinting up at Ichigo from across the room. They could see that his clawed hands were still covering his entire face, but at the same time, they could tell that his mouth was closed and completely silent. There was no longer a black hole carved into his chest either; the only evidence that anything had been there at all was the glowing blue circle Ishida's arrow had created in its place. Ichigo's body had also ceased to morph and had become a stable, but still very hollow-like form.

"Ichigo…" Rukia whispered fearfully, as she was the first one to break the eerie silence. She crawled beneath the protection of Kisuke's coat while on her knees, and cautiously moved towards the motionless hollow. She stood unsteadily, and began to approach him with a slight stutter in her step.

Then, without warning, Ichigo's scarlet stained hands dropped from his face and fell limply at his sides, revealing a white hollow's mask. Black and red angry stripes were viciously scarred across the outside of it. Two slit yellow eyes peered out with a skeleton grin stretched below. They could now clearly see the white spikes on top of his head mimicking his orange hairstyle.

"We're too late…" Rukia moaned, ducking her head low as she felt her self only an instant from breaking into sobs. Her knees threatened to buckle as they quaked unsupportively beneath her.

"Wait." Urahara stated plainly, walking up behind her. He placed a firm, steadying hand on her shoulder and carefully went to Ichigo. He lightly touched the hard white side of his arm in a gentler manner in which he touched Rukia, unsure of how the boy would react. The glowing circle on his chest immediately faded and Kisuke gasped. The hollow then reached up with his right hand.

"What the hell?" An angry muffled voice murmured from underneath his mask, as Ichigo began to slowly pull it away from his face. As it left his skin, the mask cracked and was reduced to dust in a matter of seconds. The same process occurred on the rest of his body, beginning with his feet. His skin cracked like the fragile outer layer of eggshells and then shattered completely. The spikes and claws splintered as well and soon resembled fine powder. All that was left was of his previous form was a similar residue lacing Ichigo's fingertips.

He blinked wearily and rubbed his head with his opposite hand. "That stupid medicine didn't work!" he yelled angrily, not remembering that it wasn't supposed to in the first place. "My head is still killing me!" He walked past all the stunned people in the room as if the events over the past few hours had not even happened. He stopped, noticing they were still staring with wide eyes that were not able to conceal their disbelief. "What?"

"You're a…" the girl began pointing from a few paces away.

"It's nothing." Kisuke answered quickly as he ruffled the soul reaper's spiked hair. He made a sharp glance back, declaring, _don't say a word,_ and Rukia slowly lowered her arm. "So you're alright then?" He flashed a big fake smile and Ichigo batted him away in annoyance.

"Yes, I'm fine now!" he growled and smoothed his hair over uselessly. He strolled forward, leaving Urahara's side with amazing ease considering what he had just been put through. "Can someone tell me where my shirt is…?" He was cut off unexpectedly as a thin pair of arms was thrown around him from behind. He looked back and saw the girl with her face buried into his backside.

"I thought you were lost for sure…" she mumbled almost inaudibly. He gently touched her tiny hands that were tightly clasped around his bare waist. Rukia lifted her head, as her deep as ocean eyes finally let the river of her emotions spill over with tears.

"Rukia…" he said in surprise, his expression softening for the first time today. He tenderly smiled down at her as he looked over his right shoulder. She felt rooted to the spot by his kind amber colored eyes as her expression froze and one last teardrop streaked her nose. A warm blush spread over cheeks and she released him in a flash, realizing the awkwardness of their position.

"I really am fine now. I promise." He continued to smile almost unnoticeably at the red-faced girl that was now staring at the floor. She could feel his eyes bearing into her, but then he turned to leave again. She stopped him with a gentle tug at his arm.

"Don't you need to rest?" She fought against her tears again and forced him a stern look of concern. "I mean…you nearly turned into a hollow…"

"Rukia, I'm okay now. It's over." He looked around and saw a white tee shirt trapped beneath an overturned table a little ways away. "I'd better be getting back to school now. They'll be worried." He dragged it out from under the piece of furniture, and pulled it over his head. "I guess this will have to do for now." Ichigo's face seemed to glow a little brighter as he said a simple, "Thanks." to Rukia.

Ishida was still sprawled out across the floor, looking clueless on his rear end.

"Get up Uryu. You look retarded just sitting there with that dumb look on your face." The mousy boy scrambled to his feet with a pout, brushing off his pants while Ichigo smirked at his effort. "Oh, and I guess I owe you some thanks as well." He continued his walk out the door, finally stepping out into the bright summer's sun. It shone brightly overhead, making him squint in the free delight of not having a heavy, ominous feeling eating away at his chest. His tall slender form swayed slightly in the breeze, blowing his bright orange locks from side to side. It was truly a perfect day…except for his headache. It was still stabbing at every free inch of his brain.

"Oi, Ichigo!" The soul reaper turned to his name and looked back against the bright sunlight. A true bottle of pain reliever was tossed in his direction and he caught it one handed, shielding the sun with the other. Urahara stood smirking, but his expression also showed hints of an almost curious look of interest combined with a bit of worry. "It's for the headache." Ichigo gave him a strange look and began to inspect the bottle.

"You sure?" The boy paused a moment and then added, "And what's with that look?"

"Oh, nothing important…" He laughed lightly and continued. "And yeah, there's nothing in these pills that will turn you into a hollow." He shook off his odd look and replaced it with a sly smile. Ichigo gulped down a pill immediately and began to message his temples again.

"It had better work this time, or I'll hold you personally responsible." He scowled, tightening his hand into a fist as he shook it at Urahara. The man just pulled out his little fan in response and waved it half-heartedly, concealing his face.

"Accidents happen Ichigo. If I were you, I'd be less worried about my headache, and more concerned what should happen if my family were to get a hold of those pills." Kisuke smiled deviously as he peered at Ichigo with a wily glint in his eye from over the top of his fan.

The boy's face soured to pale and he sprinted away without speaking another word to him.

"I thought you were going to tell him." Rukia said in a low voice as she appeared at Urahara's side.

"I just didn't have the heart. He'll figure it all out eventually. Especially the first time he looks in the mirror without his shirt on." They both watched him run out of sight, knowing he was no longer worried about school, but instead just wanted to make sure his family was going to be all right.

"What did the symbols on his chest mean?"

"Ichigo has now inherited the rights to the Quincy clan as well as he has to be a soul reaper and…a hollow. Because of this, Ichigo's friend has lost his powers." Urahara barely breathed the words so Uryu couldn't overhear by accident. "Ichigo's now become invincible from all sides of this war that we are so desperately trying to win. He could pick any side…it will be as if he has three different personalities fighting for dominance over the others."

"We can't change it? Why didn't you say anything about this before?"

"We decided all that when we saved his life. I knew this is all we could do if you wanted him to live." Rukia looked up to the baby blue sky above her wondering if what she had done was truly the right thing. _Of course,_ she reasoned, _he's alive and that's better than any outcome we could have hoped for. Even if Uryu lost his powers and Ichigo is now split three ways…_

The orange-haired Quincy hollow soul reaper charged toward his home with a small black hollow-sized circle bearing a cross was burned into the center of his chest. Three diagonal stripes bordered on either side of the cross, which had a tiny hole in its center. The entire design seemed like an average tattoo. He had no idea of course about the marks being permanently scarred into his skin, but that would soon be the least of his worries.

The End

_To Be Continued…?_

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Heh. That's it…or not. It was actually supposed to end, but then at like 2:30 one night, I thought of the hollow/Quincy/soul reaper hybrid thing. The _To be continued_ bit is there because there is actually a sequel in the works. It describes Ichigo's as a _Hisquori _and there's only 1 other in the world that it has ever happened to. He's also gotta deal with 3 different sides of himself and he gets…uh, how do I say this, _sucidal/emo? _(Um, preview ish?)

So what do you guys, my shiny reviewers, think? Should I put up the sequel eventually? Do you have any comments on this fanfic or new story ideas? Anything would be great! I hope you enjoyed this!

If you do like the sequel idea and want to read it when I put it up (can't guarantee that it'll be that soon. Sorry.) I'll add another 'chapter' type thing with a preview/link to the sequel. Okay?

Thanks.

-Quig-


	9. Preview to sequel  Hisquori

Hi guys! No, this is not a new chapter. This is the preview/link to the sequel called Hisquori. I know a lot of you wanted one (including myself lol), so here it is.

Ichigo has become a Hisquori: the mix of a Quincy, hollow, and soul reaper. He not only receives each of their unique powers, but their mindsets as well. This proves extremely dangerous as he soon loses the time, his mind, and becomes subconsciously suicidal.

Meanwhile, Uryu is now powerless and angry. He begins to hate Ichigo and wants his powers back no matter what the cost. He plays a bigger part in the story, possibly saving more than himself in the end…

So, what do you guys think? Pfft, don't just read this! Go read the new shiny story!

http:// www. /s /3685113/1 / Hisquori (kill the spaces)


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